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MP cleared of housing fraud
Labour MP Apsana Begum was cleared of fraud yesterday. The Poplar and Limehouse MP faced three counts of withholding information to jump the queue for a Tower Hamlets council house. Ms Begum, 31, collapsed and wept in the dock at Snaresbrook Crown Court, east London, as jurors found her not guilty.
During the trial she told how she had fled her family home in 2013 after her brother claimed she was “possessed”. Outside court, she revealed she had been the victim of sexist, racist and Islamophobic abuse online in the 18 months since the case began.
The court heard that the brother-in-law of her ex-partner had told the council her family council house in Poplar was no longer overcrowded. The verdict lifts the threat to Keir Starmer of a potentially awkward by-election.
Blade in anti-mask poster cuts woman
A woman had her hand sliced open while removing a Covid antimask poster that had a razor attached. The woman, who gave her name only as Layla, 21, sought treatment and got tested for HIV in fear the blade was contaminated.
South Wales Police has launched an investigation after the incident near a pedestrian crossing in Cardiff. The poster falsely stated that “masks don't work” and they “prolong the pandemic”. It is no longer a legal requirement to wear masks in almost all settings.
‘Onus on drivers’ in walking and cycling safety boost
Pedestrians and cyclists are to get improved protection under the Highway Code when using zebra crossings and junctions, the government announced yesterday. The Department for Transport said the new Highway Code will ensure those who can do the greatest harm, such as those in vehicles, have the “greatest responsibility to reduce the danger they may pose to others”.
A £338m package aims to encourage “sustainable travel choices” to make “air cleaner and cities greener”. Walking charity Living Streets says the proposed changes will “redress the balance” of road user responsibility.
Reality star denies revenge porn video
A reality TV personality is to go on trial next year after denying voyeurism and revenge porn. Stephen Bear, 31, from Loughton, Essex, appeared before a judge at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday. He is alleged to have secretly filmed himself having
sex with a woman in his home last year and posting the footage to pornography websites without her consent.
Revenge porn – the revealing of private sexual images or videos online – was made a criminal offence in 2015. Perpetrators face up to two years in jail.
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